Can these football coaches prove second time lucky?

Can these football coaches prove second time lucky?

Englishman Steve McClaren is the fifth coach in the last 12 months to return to his former club, FC Twente. Bikash Mohapatra's lists coaches who reignited partnerships that yielded excellent results in their first stints.

This Sunday Steve McClaren took to the field again in Enschede.

The former England manager was last week re-appointed at FC Twente. In his previous stint -- between 2008 and 2010 -- the 50-year-old led the club to their only Eredivisie title in history, in what was his second season.

Soon after that McClaren left Twente to take charge of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. That was in May 2010.

Since then both the club and coach had to endure tumultuous periods. While Twente lost their league title to Ajax Amsterdam last year, McLaren had a forgettable period at Wolfsburg.

The 50-year-old was sacked in less than a year and his subsequent assignment, at Nottingham Forest, also failed to produce the desired results -- McLaren appointed by Forest last June quit in October with the club just one point and one place above the Championship relegation zone.

The appointment was confirmed soon after, making the Englishman the fifth coach in the last one year to return to his former club, to continue a partnership that had yielded great results in the first stint.

Rediff.com takes a look at the other coaches who preceded McClaren in this regard.

King Kenny returned to The Kop

It's a year and two days since Kenny Dalglish took over at Liverpool for a second stint.

Last January, the 60-year-old was appointed as caretaker manager, and subsequently signed a three-year deal with the club in May.

The Scotsman had a prolific career at Anfield as a player -- after manager Bob Paisley paid a British transfer record (of 440,000 pounds) in 1977 to bring him to the club, winning seven league titles, three European Cups and five domestic trophies.

In 1985, 'King Kenny', as he is fondly called by Liverpool supporters, became the player-manager. In the six years that followed, he guided the Reds to three league titles and two FA Cups before resigning in February 1991, in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

However, following Roy Hodgson's ill-fated reign, during which the club had its worst start in 82 years -- placing third from bottom after the first seven games, Dalglish was back in charge at the Kop.

The Scotsman led the club to a credible sixth-place finish and the revival has continued thereafter.

Heynckes has put Bayern back on track

Jupp Heynckes's playing career coincided with the glory years of a German club named Borussia Monchengladbach.

However, as manager he first tasted success with Bayern Munich.

In his first stint in charge of the German powerhouse, between 1987 and 1991, he won two Bundesliga titles in succession (1989-90). However, a mass exodus of players follwing the second of those triumphs also meant the coach lost his job, a decision few in the Bayern management regret to date.

While Heynckes went on to score more success with Real Madrid, Bayern also got back to its groove.

However, the sacking of Jurgen Klinsmann in April 2009, handed Heynckes the role of the caretaker coach. The 66-year-old, though, went ahead, signing a permanent deal with Bayer Leverkusen before rejoining the Munich club last July.

At the moment, Bayern comfortably leads the Bundesliga and is one of the favourites to win the Champions League this year, the final of which will take place in their home ground (the Allianz Arena).

Stevens is back in Gelsenkirchen

The Gelsenkirchen club's biggest success in recent times can be attributed to this man.

Huub Stevens took charge of Schalke 04 in October 1996 and by the time he left the club, in June 2002, the Dutchman had led the team to a UEFA Cup triumph (in 1997) and two DFB-Pokal (in 2001 and 2002), the German domestic cup competition. Besides, the Royal Blues finished runners-up in the Bundesliga in 2001.

After a relatively dry period, for both the club and the coach, Stevens was signed again in September last year, on a two-year deal.

The 58-year-old, with star players like Raul and Klaas Jan Huntelaar at his disposal, has led a dramatic revival since.

The Royal Blues at the moment are third in the Bundesliga, just three points off the leaders. They remain in contention in the DFB Pokal and have also qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Wolfsburg has reinstated Magath

The best thing that authorities at Vfl Wolfsburg did was to sign Felix Magath as manager for the 2007season.

The former Bayern Munich boss ensured immediate results -- Wolfsburg finishing a best-ever fifth in his first season in charge, thereby also booking an UEFA Cup berth for only the second time in their history.

The following season, the club surprised all, probably the manager himself as well, by winning their maiden Bundesliga. As a result they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.

The success ensured Magath a lucrative deal with Schalke while Wolfsburg went on to sign Steve McClaren, who had led Twente to their maiden Dutch championships that year.

However, both the parties concerned failed to replicate their success. While Wolfsburg hovered around the relegation zone, Magath failed to get the desired results out of a high-profile squad at Gelsenkirchen.

In March last year, Magath was sacked by Schalke. However, just 24 hours later, the 58-year-old was back in charge at Wolfsburg. The result was instant as the coach helped the club avoid relegation.